This Psalm can be like meeting a well-known celebrity and not knowing it. This Psalm offers much more than what initially meets the eye. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Summer in the Psalms, Vol. 3
TEXT: Psalm 45
TITLE: A Pleasant Theme
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: Seeing the love of our bridegroom moves us to fresh affections for our  Savior.

POINTS:
I. The Groom is King and Messiah
II. The Glorious Princess is the Bride and Church

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

ILLUSTRATION: Queen Elizabeth not being recognized by tourists

“The subscript says this is a love song. The context is a royal wedding with all the normal and expected emotions and pomp we would experience at a King’s wedding. This is a  unique Psalm. There is no other Psalm like this one.”

“This Psalm is located at the beginning of Book 2 of the Psalms, follows some dark Psalms, and acts as a wedding celebration and a hint of future dynasty and victorious reign.”

“Structurally, the Psalmist speaks in first person in V. 1 and then at the end in V. 16-17, acting as bookends. Verses 2-9 address the groom, and V. 10-15 address the bride.”

“The Psalmist wrote this for the King. Whether it is sung by a choir or the entire  congregation, it’s clear that it is addressed to the King. NOTICE V. 1. Scholars can’t be sure which king the Psalmist might be addressing. What’s clear is that he would be in the Davidic lineage.”

“ NOTICE the author says his heart overflows with a pleasing theme. Overflow is like the author is stirred up or moved. A pleasing theme is literally “a good word.” The author is  stirred and moved and has this sense that he’s got a good word.” 

“The Psalmist is indeed writing about a pleasing theme. In fact, we’ll see he’s writing about the theme of themes. So his heart appropriately overflows.”

“A king, and especially the royal wedding in this Psalm, can be difficult for many of us to imagine. Apart from God’s active, illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, the natural mind has difficulty imagining the king, the primary object of this poetic love song.” 

“FIRST, we don’t live under a monarchy, have no day-to-day context for or about a king in our lives or American culture. So it’s difficult to imagine a royal wedding unless you are engaged with the gossip columns surrounding the British Monarchy.  SECOND, the king in this wedding would be part of the Davidic line of kings. There’s a certain weight and future promise attached. God had promised that the Savior would come from David’s line. Scholars aren’t sure if this wedding was Solomon’s or some other king, but all agree this love song, this poem concerning a royal wedding, would be for a king in David’s lineage. THIRD, it gets even more difficult because we will see clear evidence in the NT that this royal wedding involves not just a king in the family tree of David, but it points ultimately to King Jesus. The bridegroom in this wedding will emerge as King and  Messiah.” 

“So, let’s allow God’s Word, through this poetic song, ILLUMINE our minds and hearts – helping us to SEE & KNOW - knowing we have the Holy Spirit helping us.” 

“Verses 2-9 focus on the king. The Psalmist writes about his physical looks and his speech. He is handsome and skilled in using his words. Then in v. 3-4 he describes his military victories.”

“THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT CONCEALED. THE NEW  TESTAMENT IS THE OLD TESTAMENT REVEALED.”

“If V. 1 was a hint that maybe the author’s ‘pleasing theme’ has more to do with the future King of Kings, then notice V. 6. He doesn’t address him as King like in V. 1. He now calls Him God! To call an earthly king God would be blasphemous yet that’s what the Psalmist does.”

“So we have this paradox – The king is addressed as God, but God is his God. It’s clearly stated in God’s Word. But the best confirmation and clarity come from the NT. Hebrews 1:8- 9 shows us the Psalmist is speaking of another King.”

“The author of Hebrews is making the argument that Jesus is greater than any of the angels, and in that argument, he quotes Psalm 45:6-7 explicitly revealing that the text we’re looking at today refers to Jesus!” 

“Handsome – Our eternal bridegroom didn’t come to be admired for His physical attributes – His beauty goes far beyond being handsome. The king of kings/Messiah – our eternal bridegroom is the essence of righteousness. He hates evil, and God sent Him to come and die for our rebellion and evil against him.  He is victorious in battle – Jesus came from the glories of heaven to win the battle that you and I could not. NOTICE v. 6 – Your throne is FOREVER. God has made Him an eternal king.”

“If this royal wedding were to have been Solomon’s wedding, he could be regarded as one of the wisest kings known to man. But no one addressed him as God. No one addressed him as God, who had God as his God. This is a Psalm bursting the banks with OT language. The only fulfillment could be the future King of Kings, Jesus.”

“The romance, ceremony, a handsome king, a military conqueror, thrones, fragrant robes all in the context of a royal wedding – take on much more meaning when we see from holy Scripture it’s about our Savior Jesus Christ. Yet there’s another piece to this royal wedding scene. You don’t have a wedding without a bride.” 

“Verse 10 now addresses the bride. First, a three-part exhortation. The bride is called to hear, consider, and to incline her ear. The exhortation calls her to forget her former people and her father’s household. Positively, she is to bow or submit to her bridegroom who is also her king.”

“Remember, Jewish weddings involved a procession from one house to another. Notice in v. 13 she is glorious in her beauty, adorned with robes like we heard earlier about the King. In her multi colored robes, she is led to the king. This hints at the original wedding of God bringing Eve to Adam. There is joy and gladness as she is led in this procession to meet  her bridegroom and enter the palace of the king.” 

“Since we know the king here is fulfilled in Christ, this amazing picture emerges of Christ and His love for His bride the Church. If the OT is the NT concealed and the NT is the  OT revealed, then what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5 is another lens to understand some of the imagery we see in Psalm 45.”

“The bride gives up all allegiance to her prior people, father, and household, and fully gives herself – she bows to her new king. You and I, as Christians, are called to repent of our prior love for anything in this world and devote ourselves to Christ the King.  

As the bride “leaves” her prior “chamber,” so we leave our prior place and are led to our  King. There is joy and gladness not because an earthly king chose his bride but because the King of the universe left His place, His royal, perfect place of intimate fellowship with the Godhead, and came and died so create a way for His bride, the Church, to be led  into relationship with Him!”

QUOTES:
ESV Study Bible - “You Are a King of Beauty, Majesty, and Justice. These words speak to the king, praising him for his appearance and gracious speech, military power, and commitment to promoting justice for his subjects. These words focus the attention of a young king on the ideals he should hold for his reign and character. These are what lead to God’s  blessing for his people’s king, and to the king’s own respected position in the world.”

Derek Kidner - “This paradox is consistent with the incarnation but mystifying in any other context. It is an example of Old Testament language bursting its banks, to demand a more-than-human fulfilment.”

Christopher Ash - “Rather than try to twist the verse to make it plausible for an address to a historical Old  Testament King, it is better to see this as another indication that these Spirit-inspired words look beyond Old Testament history to the coming of the Messiah.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 1:8–9
2 Corinthians 11:2

APPLICATION:
Identity 
We are the bride of Christ. Let the affections we see in the bride/groom freshly stir up in each of us the glory of our new identity. This can be a powerful weapon in your sanctification – the expulsive power of a new  affection 

Ambassador  
For evangelism, knowing the love King Jesus has for His bride is a ‘theme’ or ‘matter’ of glad tidings all should hear – we are the aroma of Christ in this world. We bring an aroma as we live, speak, and do our deeds in a lost and dying world. 

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Be Thou My Vision
Our Song From Age To Age
The Steadfast Love of Christ
Turn Your Eyes
How Great (Psalm 145)

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
GUEST PASTOR: KYLE HOULTON

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin

By Lundgaard, Kris A.

Buy on Amazon

What comfort and hope do I have, do we have, in the middle of the night (i.e. the repeated sufferings of this life)? We believe that one of the kindest things that your pastors can do for you is prepare you for the suffering that marks this life. It is for this purpose that we consider Psalm 16 today. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Summer in the Psalms, Vol. 3
TEXT: Psalm 16
TITLE: An Unshakable Calm in Jesus
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: God’s preservation of our life produces a beautiful contentment and an unshakable calm of our soul.

POINTS:
I. A Content Life (In Christ - Vs. 2-6)
II. A Calm Life (In Christ - Vs. 7-11)

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“Until we step onto the golden shores of heaven, we will face trial after trial after trial. Ps 16, written by David, speaks into “the night” of life… into the trial that is this life, BUT it does not simply say “Hang on! Heaven is coming!” WHICH IS RADICALLY TRUE. Ps 16 speaks of a real and lasting and PRESENT hope and anchor for the soul.”

“Ps 16 begins with a cry for PRESENT help (that He would “preserve” us right now) and it grants us PRESENT help right now.”

“Are you happy today and rocked tomorrow? All seems well. The sea of your life is placid… and then… wave after wave. Don’t we long for calm? Don’t we long for rest? Isn’t this possibly our daily pursuit? And just when we think we have reached a ‘good’ stretch in life… things fall apart.”

“Yet today we find that God’s preservation of our life leads to an unshakable calm of our soul. There is a profound effect on our soul when our soul remembers and believes and grabs hold of the truth that God saves and guards the believer… preserving them forever… and the effect of that truth produces an unshakable calm in this life.”

“Verse 1 ‘Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.’ In the opening words in Verse 1, David calls out, ‘Preserve me, O God’, and the sense is that we sing-pray that God would guard and save our very lives. There is no specific or imminent threat mentioned because the Psalm is a cry for God to preserve us throughout our whole life! All the days of my life, O God, guard my life!”

“Following Verse 1, we have in Verse 2, ‘I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”’ David declares that the LORD is our Lord, and he acknowledges that anything truly good in this life is found only in and with Him, and nothing truly good is found anywhere else. That which is truly good is found only in one place: in God!”

“Now… we begin to see godly contentment take shape in our text. Verse 2 shapes biblical contentment.”

“First, contentment confesses that God is the Lord of our life! Second, contentment, biblically speaking, acknowledges that good is only found in God, and that is enough for me.”

“Contentment excludes our thinking that we have any goodness to bring and to add to God’s. Godly contentment is a deep satisfaction in all that is found in God alone and nothing else and nowhere else. Our greatest satisfaction in this life is in the Lord, and there is no lasting satisfaction apart from Him!”

“Our confession becomes: In you, Lord, is found only good. There is no evil in you, God, but only that which is righteousness and goodness. ‘Preserve my life, O God.’ ‘Guard my life, God. Guard my life in Your goodness.’”

“David now describes a people, God’s people, calling them saints. Here we have a description of God’s people in whom the king delights because they are God’s saints. And his delight in them is compared to those of Vs 4…”

“The saints… he delights in. These idolaters… (Vs 4b) He has no delight in but only disdain of their idolatry and silent rejection. They have turned “apart” (Vs 2b) from God and have run after another god in an attempt to find good, and pleasure, and joy, and satisfaction.”

“The altogether discontent people of Vs 4 do not find the good life they crave, but only that which multiplies and compounds sorrow! Their running from God to other gods leads them into a perpetual state of UNREST. Their discontent gifts them sleepless nights of the soul. Nothing satisfies them. No one satisfies them.”

“The craving of the human heart is to live the good life. Yet our sin and this world redefine what a good life is. Day after day, we wake up hoping it’s going to be a good day.
A good life is _______________?
…prosperity
… conflict-free free fruitful relationships
…health
…sexual fulfillment
…a full stomach”

“Psalm 16 teaches us an uncomfortable truth: If we look to anyone else but God and go anywhere else but God, “running after/acquiring other gods,” in the end, we do not get what we were looking for. Our searching, grasping, on-to-the-next-new-thing, ends only in our sorrow ‘multiplying.’”

“A lack of contentment in God is not simply going about our day, not thinking about him, but our discontent has lead us to turn to another god - an impatient, insatiable desire that is looking for the next high, for the next sense of feeling good/ok/angst-free… going everywhere… anywhere… to anyone… but God.”

“Discontentment is not satisfied by adding this fix to that fix. Discontentment itself multiplies, and discontentment with God, leads to trouble and sorrow that only MULTIPLY.”

“BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS! Recalling Vs. 2, “LORD, you are my Lord. I have no good apart from you.” We now come to the part of the Psalm that shapes a beautiful satisfaction of the soul. Let these words sink into your soul.”

“Here, in the words of Verses 5-6, is a PLACE. That place is the LORD himself in the words of the “promised land” Using these words: my chosen portion, my cup, my lot, my lines. The marking of the place where God is AND where he isn’t. A place that God has drawn the borders… therein is my pleasant places. Therein is my beautiful inheritance. Therein is our beautiful satisfaction. (Outside of the place, there is only mounting unhappiness and unresolved grief.)”

“[The contented person] has found satisfaction. He has found rest in his soul. A contentment with God, and a satisfaction in God, that leads to rest… a rest for the soul. Godly contentment leads to a godly calm in our lives, no matter what may happen.”

“The contentment of the soul is anchored in a deep trust in God, and taking us somewhere… into a deep calm of the soul.”

“And this remains true in the night - there will be sorrow, but not only sorrow. The reassuring counsel that God gives “in the night” brings a calm rest to the soul. The reassuring instruction “in the night” of our hearts that are informed by the promises of God brings a calming security to our soul.  Vs 9: My heart can be glad, my whole being can rejoice, my flesh also can live SECURE.”

“Yet, how is Vs 10 possible? Read with me Acts 2:22-32.”

“Now we find that Psalm 16 is Messianic - It has been leading us to see the Promised One of Israel - Jesus Christ!”

“Hear our Lord’s voice as He speaks the words of vs 5-6. Our Savior was given a ‘chosen portion and… cup’. In the Garden, Jesus falls to the ground… The lines of His lot were drawn (had “fallen”) for Him and His lot included a cup that was almost too much to bear - the Cross!”

“The cross of Christ and His resurrection, as revealed in Verse 10, lead to dwelling with glad hearts and living in a confident calm as described in Verse 9. Even our flesh will dwell securely knowing that death will not leave us in the pit to rot forever but will, in the twinkling of an eye, come alive forevermore!”

“Even in death - THE true nightmare in the night… my soul can be reassured!  1 Thes 4 - in death - HOPE because of vs 10 - the hope of the resurrection grants and leads us into a calm reassurance in Christ!”

“An Unshakable Calm is possible RIGHT NOW in the midst of sorrow and grief. It will see us through the night and into gladness and rejoicing. Understanding the wrath of God is satisfied at the Cross of Jesus leads to this unshakable calm of our soul.”

“Jesus will not be abandoned to hell. Jesus will not see the corruption. In Jesus, we will not be abandoned to hell! In Jesus, we will not see the corruption!”

QUOTES:
Jerry Bridges - “The contented person experiences the sufficiency of God’s provision for his needs and the sufficiency of God’s grace for his circumstances. He believes God will indeed meet all his material needs and that He will work in all his circumstances for his good. …The godly person has found what the greedy or envious or discontented person always searches for but never finds. He has found satisfaction and rest in his soul.”

Thomas Brooks, The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer’s Portion above All Earthly Portions - “A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Acts 13:32-39

APPLICATION:
Set the Lord always before you. DON'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE. Go to Him. Don't go to another God. All that awaits there is sorrow multiplied!

GO to the Cross of Jesus and see him there! Don't go anywhere else
- When all seems ok… set Him before you
- In the night, when all hell seems to be breaking loose… Don’t go anywhere else. Set the LORD before you!

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
Glorious
Hallelujah What A Savior
O My Soul Arise

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 45

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin

By Lundgaard, Kris A.

Buy on Amazon

Righteousness and Peace come together in Jesus our King and Priest! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Summer in the Psalms, Vol. 3
TEXT: Psalm 110
TITLE: Jesus, Our King and Priest Forever
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Jesus has become our King and Priest, so we freely give ourselves to Him and His kingdom.

POINTS:
I. Jesus, Our King (Vs. 1-3)
II. Jesus, Our Priest (Vs. 4-7)

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“As a people, we have a problem with kings.”

ILLUSTRATION: Google search of AI “No Kings Day”

“It sounds like we don’t like kings. But 1 Samuel 8 tells a very different story… we crave kings… we love kings… we love kings that give us what we want. The people demanded “Give us a king to judge us.” and God told Samuel to give them what they want. They ‘have rejected me from being king over them.’”

“We have a problem with kings. But in Psalm 110 we have been given a King… the very King that we desperately need!”

“Psalm 110 has the following Structure: Biblically, an oracle is a divine message from God Himself that is spoken/written by a man (in this case, King David) to the hearers/readers (that would be us)
Vs 1 - A Divine Declaration - followed by
Vs 2-3 The Explanation
Vs 4 - A Divine Declaration -  followed by
Vs 5-7 The Explanation”

“Verse one says several things: 1. ‘The LORD speaks to my Lord:’ (Capital letters and then lower case letters)”

“David hears what no man ever deserved to hear. Yet YHWH permits it. He permits a mortal ear to hear, and a human pen to record what should have been a ‘secret conversation’.”

“And we know that this clearly is Jesus as we look into what is next: 2. ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool’.”

“First, the phrase ‘sit at my right hand’ is seen elsewhere in Scripture, like Ps 45, 1 Kings 2, Matt. 25, and combined with ‘footstool,’ we discover that this is enthroning in honor and majesty and in victorious triumph as seen in Joshua 10:24-25 - where the commanders of the army would place their feet on the necks of defeated kings. Vs. 2 adds further emphasis to this Kings rule as ‘The LORD sends forth from Zion [His] mighty scepter.’”

“The word ‘until’ in this second part of verse 1 makes it clear that this King’s rule over his enemies has begun, but will, one by one, put His enemies underfoot - on their neck - in a final glorious and righteous act of judgement - His victories will be completed! Vs. 2 will describe His rule as ‘in the midst of your enemies!’ It is ongoing with end-times certainty of victory over every single last enemy of God and His saints. He is the King at war now, anticipating the day that enemies are finally his ‘footstool’.”

“None other than Jesus Himself alludes to and directly quotes Psalm 110:1, asserting He is the one whom David spoke of. Jesus’ words are recorded in the 3 synoptic gospels. [below]”

“If Jesus said that what David wrote was in reference to himself, Jesus’ testimony would be sufficient! …and, yet, adding to the sufficient self-witness of Christ, the witness of Scripture goes on in Acts 2:29-36 (Peter says that this is Jesus).”

“After a little of study who David is calling his “Lord” in Ps 110:1, it becomes abundantly clear that “my Lord” is the Messiah. David’s Lord is Jesus Christ, the Son of God!”

“Psalm 110 makes much of Jesus. Psalm 110 is lifted up higher and higher by Scripture itself. And this Psalm preaches Jesus… Jesus who is the Lord… the King who sits in power over all!”

“Verses 2 and 3 provide further explanation of this King's rule. We find in verse 3 that God’s people FREELY offer themselves up for their King in these battles that are being waged. In “holy garments,” they are dressed in honor of their King.”

“‘From the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.’ The last part of Vs 3 is a bit more difficult to interpret, but likely means those who honor and give themselves to the King are doing so with a daily renewed energy for the fight and honor.”

“Something amazing is now spoken to Jesus our King. God speaks again to His Son. He declares an irrevocable oath to His Messiah King - ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’ Jesus, Our King is also Our Priest to God - and He will represent us to God. He intercedes for us. HE is our King who is being represented to us. HE is our Priest who represents us to God.”

“Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7 make it clear that this priest, Melchizedek, was before the law. He was not making intercession to God under the law… He was a type and foreshadowing of Jesus, the greater King and Priest of Psalm 110 that would usher in a better and eternal covenant.”

“According to Hebrews 7:2, his name means king of righteousness and being from a town called Peace, he was the king of peace. - Melchizedek was the king of righteousness and peace!”

“Righteousness and Peace come together in Jesus our King and Priest! In Psalm 110:4, God is declaring that a GREATER priest than that of Levitical priesthood… completely outside and greater! - Jesus, my Son, who is on My Throne forever is Our GREAT HIGH PRIEST forever!”

“Sinners cannot approach a Holy God without a mediator, without an intercessor, without a priest that brings a bloody sacrifice as offering to God as a sign of atonement for their sin. The whole priesthood, tied to the law that proved our guilt, was put into place to teach us, to reveal God’s Holiness and our sinfulness. There is no other way for sinners to come near a Holy God.”

“So, the priest represented us to God through the daily sacrifice. OVER AND OVER AND OVER Hebrews 10 describes this daily sacrifice as a shadow (a sign) of what was to come. In fact, the act of these priests could never remove our sin.”

“Our original hope was tied to the Law of the Levitical Priesthood, yet in the end, sinners like us were hopeless without forgiveness! BUT, now eternal hope is being prophesied in Psalm 110 and FULFILLED in the coming of our GREAT HIGH PRIEST - JESUS! And He, under His new and better covenant, brings us in His righteousness before God! Our KING and PRIEST became Our Lamb that shed His blood for our forgiveness and eternal peace!”

“We desperately need Jesus Our King-Priest, because of the wrath of God.”

“In our fallen condition, we seek to be our own mediator, but we need someone who will bring us before God in righteousness. We believe that we don’t need a King-Priest. This will lead to our destruction. We both willfully will not see and blindly cannot see apart from the power of the Gospel to open our eyes to our King and Priest, Jesus. YET, our application is first found in Vs 3 [Read Vs 3 with me]. Willing and Freely (there is a Gladness in our response to King Jesus)”

QUOTES:
C.H. Spurgeon - “Jehovah said unto my Adonai: David in spirit heard the solemn voice of Jehovah speaking to the Messiah from of old. What wonderful intercourse there has been between the Father and the Son! From this secret and intimate communion spring the covenant of grace and all its marvellous arrangements. All the great acts of grace are brought into actual being by the word of God;... How condescending on Jehovah’s part to permit a mortal ear to hear, and a human pen to record his secret converse with his co-equal Son! How greatly should we prize the revelation of his private and solemn discourse with the Son, herein made public for the refreshing of his people I Lord!”

John Calvin - “Having the testimony of Christ that this psalm was penned in reference to himself, we need not apply to any other quarter for the corroboration of this statement…”

Martin Luther - Psalm 110 “is the very core and quintessence of the whole Scripture. No other psalm prophesies as abundantly and completely about Christ.”

Dane Ortland - “Christ is your king, representing God to you, but he is also your priest representing you to God.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 22:41-46
Mark 12:35-37,
Luke 20:41-44
Who is Melchizedek?: Genesis 14, Hebrews 7

APPLICATION:
1. We need Jesus, Our King, because we were made for Him.
2. We need Jesus, Our Priest, because He is holy!
The height of our pride leads to believe that we don’t even need a king. (“we are a government of the people”… or better yet a government of me). What in the world is a monarchy anyway? Who needs that? In our fallen condition, we cannot see that we are in the battle for our lives, our eternal lives. We were made for THE King. Yet, in our sin (1 Samuel 8:7), we reject God as our king and we demand a temporary earthly king who will get us what we want. Worse, we live as if we are the king over our own lives, and everyone around us is our subjects.

Q. We see Christ as King, but what is the importance of having Him as our priest? Why do we even need a priest? Why do we need this HIGH KING and PRIEST? Answer: Because of Verses 1 and 5-7! The King reigns and is coming in just, righteous, fury, and wrath upon all His enemies (sinners). Without this Priest-King (of righteousness and peace), we are justly “shattered” and crushed. We need a righteous Priest to bring us before the righteous King!! Death is demanded. Blood is called for and requires a priest… a mediator… an intercessor between us and God.

Knowing that we belong to the King of Heaven (turning away from our self-ruling and away from the kingdom of darkness) Vs. 3 - We freely offer ourselves as willing sacrifices for our King and Priest Jesus out of worship of Him for He sacrificed Himself for us.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Behold Our God
Your Great Name We Praise
My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
From Everlasting (Psalm 90)
Before The Throne Of God Above

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 16

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin

By Lundgaard, Kris A.

Buy on Amazon

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. It is a stunningly bold statement that we are all too familiar with. As we close the books on 24 and start again in 25, I can't think of a better truth to root us in individually and collectively as a church. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Christmas Story
TEXT: Psalm 23:1
TITLE:  An Audacious New Year’s Reality
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. The Majesty of My Shepherd
2. The Intimacy of My Shepherd
3. The Sufficiency of My Shepherd

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Someone said about Psalm 23:1—Our familiarity with these words may rob us of their audacity. It is one thing to speak of God as Rock, King, Creator, Holy One, and Shelter, but Shepherd!? No image is so touching as the image of shepherd. As shepherd, the Lord must identify with His flock; as shepherd, the Lord must always be near His flock; as shepherd, the Lord must fight for His flock; as shepherd, the Lord must be willing to die for his flock. This image David uses of God is among the loveliest in the Bible to describe the tender and compassionate care that God gives to His people.”

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. It is a stunningly bold statement that we are all too familiar with. As we close the books on 24 and start again in 25, I can't think of a better truth to root us in individually and collectively as a church. My prayer on this last Sunday of the year is simple:  We will leave here looking back on 24, freshly aware and grateful for all the goodness of our Shepherd, and look forward to 25 with a fullness of hope, knowing our Shepherd will be with us every step of the way.”

“From the outset, David distinguishes his shepherd as no ordinary shepherd—The LORD is my shepherd. Notice the word LORD in all caps. David is using the covenant name of God—Yahweh. It's the name God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3 at the burning bush. It was a fire in the bush that did not consume the bush, showing that the fire needed no source. The bush was a vivid illustration of God's being. He is profoundly mysterious. He needs nothing. He is independent of everything. He is self-existent. He is the great I AM. All of that is captured and communicated in the all-caps LORD. This is David's shepherd, and this is your shepherd.”

“Your shepherd is the one Isaiah 40 describes as measuring the waters that cover the Earth in the hollow of His hands and the one who consults no one because He knows all things.”

“Your shepherd is the one Job 38 describes as commanding the elements of weather and creating the boundaries of the sea.”

“Your shepherd is the one Psalm 8 declares has set the stars into place. PERSPECTIVE: [There is a] report that says there are 1,000 stars for every grain of sand on the Earth. Every one of them, the LORD, sets and holds into place effortlessly.”

“Here's the point: Your shepherd is no ordinary shepherd! He is the LORD who shepherds you from the fullness of His infinite and undiminishing wisdom, love, and power.”

“Allow this to stop you in your tracks because it should. The opening words of Psalm 23 should arrest our attention immediately. But too often, it doesn't. We rush by WHO our shepherd is to get to WHAT he does for us.”

“Don't allow your view of LORD to be, in the words of Phillip Keller—too small, too cramped, too provincial, too human. As the sun sets on one year and dawns on another, take heart—The LORD has been your shepherd, and He will continue to be your shepherd!”

“In light of WHO the Psalm 23 shepherd is, what David says next is quite remarkable: he says—The LORD is my shepherd. David does not say the LORD is A shepherd, or Israel's shepherd, or even Our shepherd. He says The Lord is MY shepherd. The Infinite LORD is an Intimate Shepherd!”

“I read a great book, While Shepherds Watch Their Flock, by Timothy Laniak, a missionary turned seminary professor who took a year-long sabbatical to the Middle East to study real shepherds. His book chronicles and makes biblical connections with the things he learned about the sheep, the shepherds, and the culture to the shepherd imagery in the Bible, particularly Psalm 23. Here are a few things he observed that have not changed much over time:
- A good shepherd takes great pride in ensuring the sheep are well-fed, protected, and flourishing under His care.
- A good shepherd is up early, carefully inspecting his sheep, looking for any injuries, illness, or parasites. Anything that needs special attention before the day starts.
- A good shepherd is strategic and goes to great lengths to ensure there are always green, rich pastures. He makes sure there is plenty of clean water, and he plans for enough feed to get them through winter.
- A good shepherd sleeps with one eye open, constantly alert for danger from predators. His eyes continually move over the flock so he knows when a sheep wanders off or gets too close to a cliff.”

“In other words, a shepherd knows his sheep intimately. The LORD, who is transcendent above His creation in every way, the one who holds the universe in his hands, relates to YOU as a shepherd relates to his sheep.”

“These five simple words—The LORD is my shepherd—represent a glorious condescension. As you turn the corner to 2025, the Lord wants to remind you of your profound relationship with Him. We have been reminded this Christmas that our Infinite Shepherd condescended to us by sending his son Jesus, the one John 10 calls the Good Shepherd to us for one reason—to lay down his life for the sheep so God could lovingly and eternally accept us.”

“That's what the gospel is about—The Lord, the Great Shepherd, doing all the work needed through Jesus, the good shepherd, to make you His beloved sheep.”

“Yet, as David considers his life, he concludes he is not lacking or deficient, whether temporal or spiritual; he believes he has all he needs. Why? Because he has all he wants? NO. Because the LORD is his shepherd, and the LORD is enough. David is a man marked by a profound contentment rooted in knowing who controls his physical and spiritual well-being—an infinitely good Shepherd who has an undying love for Him.”

“Contentment is elusive. One of the most true-to-life book titles ever is The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (Jeremiah Burrows). The words I shall not want challenge us because we are prone to wander and be dazzled by other things.”

“We all have some Miss Gadabout [the fence-crawling sheep] in us, don't we? Our hearts want for something more than what God has for us. We think the fields are greener on the other side of the metaphorical fence. Sometimes, it's the sin of greed that drives us. Other times it's the idol of personal dreams. At times, the weariness of suffering fuels discontentment with our shepherd.”

“Church, a new year lies ahead. It will hold personal triumph and tragedy. It will bring health and sickness. There will be excitement and disappointment. As a church, we will launch an exciting Church Plant Exploratory CG on the east side, experience evangelism growing pains, and keep gathering on Sundays and in CG right here in the NW. There will be green pastures and lean pastures. But our Good Shepherd will be with us every step of the way. Jesus is with us. And as our Shepherd, he is working on your behalf, working all things for his glory and your good, keeping you in his graces and providing rest, peace, and joy as your shelter in the storm and comforter of your soul so that we can say with David—read verse 6.”

APPLICATION:
- Here's one way to begin the new year: read Enjoying God by R.C. Sproul

- As you look back on 2024, ask yourself: What areas of fence crawling do I need to give to the Lord in 2025? Identify and repent of those areas with the assurance that your Great Shepherd won't put you down. Like the Father of the Prodigal Son, God never casts His sheep away. He shepherds us. He lovingly corrects us. He gently restores us. He faithfully tends to us by showing us how good and trustworthy He is and how lovely and satisfying His ways are if we would have the eyes to see.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
This Is Amazing Grace
We Have Been Healed
Grace and Peace
Jesus Thank You
King Of Love
O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Colossians 2:8-15

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

By Tripp, Paul David

Buy on Amazon

Beginning in July, week after week, we have beheld and savored the Glory of God. These messages have been leading us to this glorious place: PRAISE THE LORD. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 113
TITLE: Who Is Like Our God?
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Our incomparable LORD is worthy of our endless and highest praise!

POINTS:
1. The Never-ending Praise of His Name (Vs. 1-3)
2. The Grandeur of His Glory (Vs. 4-5)
3. The Marvel of His Mercy (Vs. 6-9)

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”This Psalm opens with the imperative - Praise the Lord. The opening first three verses make it clear! The last words of this Psalm make it clear! Praise the LORD! From beginning to end, it is clear… Praise the LORD!”

“Recalling that this Ps was likely the first song sung at Passover, we must put ourselves in the Jewish homes worldwide at that time as they sang and prepared for the Passover. The public temple service was a responsive service in which the Levite priests would declare each part of the verse, and the people would respond.”

“This song does not first build the case that grips our hearts, leading us to praise. Rather, this song bursts forth in Praise of our God first! “Praise, O servants of the LORD!” - the prescription!”

“Now Vs. 2 provides the description - the praise of the Lord now begins to take ‘SHAPE’ and instruction.”

“How long am I to praise the LORD? We worship our God right now… FORTH with a trajectory of forevermore. We begin now and refuse to cease… if more can be, we magnify Him!”

“There is a sense in this verse in which the meaning points to the faithfulness of the rising and setting of the sun… the faithfulness of the rotation of the earth… so shall the faithfulness of our worship be.Yet it also describes our praise being lifted up every day! The effect of the verse is: The inclination and disposition of the heart is one of joy, thanksgiving, need, longing, trusting, and returning to the praise of His glorious name! ‘Praise Him every waking moment and do not stop praising the LORD!’”

“Q. Who is like the LORD our God? This question and its answer provide the framework of this Psalm. This question… really… is God’s question to us about himself, provided not simply as a test but aims us toward the praise and blessing of His name. The grandeur of God’s glory begins to be described for us by revealing the vast, immeasurable difference, distinctiveness, distance, ‘otherness’ in holiness describes the LORD in the words, “The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!”

“God is high above everything that we see, experience, or conceive in our minds and imagination. God is high above all of the people of the earth and the observable universe! God is (vs. 5) seated on high He is present, ruling over all of creation - He is seated on high as its Sovereign, Providential KING in majesty! As high and ‘other’ is He, He rules it all from His Holy throne!”

“The god of SELF attempts to pull God off of His seat - dethroning Him and we attempt to take His seat! The greatest enemy of God and His glory is not first out there somewhere declaring their rule and reign. Application for us: in our sin, we want to sit on high!So texts like these are pure gold. When my view and thoughts of God have been diminished and I am failing to behold the Grandeur of His Glory… caught in anger, complaining that things are not going MY way…A difficult situation comes to my mind, and forgetting all that is good and true about my God, I turn on him in accusation. The gods of this world obscure our view of the Glory of God.”

“Who is like our God in His humiliation/condescension? From on high, He looks down! O, how far the LORD has come and stooped down to look on us! AND this is nothing but the magnificence of His MERCY.”

“We marvel at His mercy as He stoops and looks on the heavens and the earth who raged against Him. (vs 6). We marvel at His mercy as He comes to the dust and goes into the burning trash heap (dunghill). (vs 7) Has He not come so far?! There is no sinner, so filthy and so far, that God cannot show mercy - THIS IS WHAT MERCY IS! - the undeserved saving of God. His nail-scared hand has reached into this dark place and has pulled you out! We marvel at His mercy as He raises us up when we should have be been left where we were, but HE seats his saints on high (vs 8). We marvel at His mercy in the compassion of the miracle pictured in the imagery of a barren woman.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 40:15
Isaiah 44:6-8
Matthew 1:21
Matthew 1:23
Philippians 2:6-11

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon- “While praising him aloud, the people were also to bless him in the silence of their hearts, wishing glory to his name, success to his cause, and triumph to his truth.”

Charles Spurgeon- “For ever, and more than ‘for ever,’ if more can be, let him be magnified.”

John Calvin - “… at such a distance from us…”  “he magnifies his mercy towards us”

Charles Spurgeon - “It is a marvel of mercy that the sun should rise on the rebellious sons of men…”

APPLICATION:
Who is like the LORD our God? NO ONE! Let this humble you and draw you to behold the Grandeur of His Glory. Psalm 113 gets around in front of us exhorting self-worshippers like me and you by exulting God lifting our eyes ‘UP’ to the one and only incomparable God.
- Behold the Grandeur of His Glory!!!
- Behold the Marvelous Mercy of Jesus as he came down and gave His life in our place on the cross!

The Gospel result is we have been lifted from dust and the burning trash and a cursed life and made princes in God’s kingdom! Seated with Christ Jesus to the confession and praise of His Glorious name!
Q. How high has your pride sought to take God’s seat? There is mercy for you!
Q. How far have you been buried in the filth and burning trash of your sin? There is mercy for you!

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
This Is Our God
Our Song From Age To Age
Jesus I My Cross Have Taken
There is One Gospel
Jesus, There's No One Like You

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Romans 12:1

What do you want more than anything else? Psalm 84 takes us into the thoughts of a man who wants God more than anything else. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 84
TITLE: A Bellhop’s Psalm
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. He Longs to Worship God with God’s People
2. He is Dependent On and Delights In God’s Grace
3. He is Satisfied In God’s Salvation

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Here’s a challenging thought (Ligonier Website): Where and who do you want to be? Is it more important to you to be in this world with a high position and much acclaim, or would you prefer to be a mere servant in the household of God? The world and its allurements may be enticing, but all of it will pass away. Only the household of God will remain, and only what we do for Christ will have eternal value. We can distill that thought into one penetrating question—What do you want more than anything else? Psalm 84 takes us into the thoughts of a man who wants God more than anything else.”

“Psalm 84 was written by one of the sons of Korah. You can read about them in 1 Chronicles 23-26. As a division of the Levites, the Korahites served in the temple. There were numerous temple tasks: priests, musicians, treasurers, and others. The Korahites had the lowest duty in the temple—doorkeeper. …The Sons of Korah were ancient bellhops.”

“Psalm 84 is their perspective of the privilege of being at the temple with God’s people in God’s presence. Their job was menial. Their ministry was not exalted. But that didn’t matter because they loved being in the house of the Lord. Psalm 84 is their chance to tell the world about it. And today they get to tell us about it. As they do, a portrait appears of the person who wants God and desires to be in God’s presence with God’s people more than anything else.”

“In this portrait, we find three characteristics or, as the psalmist presents them, marks of blessedness, of the one who wants God more than anything else.”

“Jewish people believed in an omnipresent God. They believed Yahweh was always with them. But they also knew God’s presence and glory was uniquely manifested and experienced in the temple. The sacrifices, the Law, God’s covenant people gathered, all of it made the temple a place where God’s people could encounter and engage with God in a way like no other.”

“The verbs longs and faints express a desire and yearning for God so strong that it exhausts his whole being. The psalmists says—My heart (spiritual) and flesh (physical) sing for joy to the living God. This wasn’t about mental assent; it was about being consumed with God. He treasures God. He longs for his glory. He finds his greatest joy in His presence. He sings for joy in God and considers himself blessed for being part of it all!”

“How important is this today? Fewer and fewer Christians are interested in gathering with God’s people to worship God in the presence of His glory. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I’m too hurt. I’m good I read my Bible. I think the psalmist would say—What’s up with not going to church!”

“Listen, we don't need a temple to go to today. We have seen, we know, and we experience the glory of God in Jesus Christ. The gospel transforms everything. Personal peace with God. Personal union in Christ. The Spirit lives in the heart of every believer. But there’s so much more to the Christian life than me and Jesus.”

“There is nothing magical about this building. But when we gather to worship God together, in a unique and powerful way we are the dwelling place of God and we experience His presence and glory that cannot be experienced in any other way. I submit to you, if any part of this life is like heaven, it is what we are doing right now.”

“When you walk through those doors at 10 am is there a sense of awe and wonder, joy and privilege? If you think about what we are doing, there should be.”

“In the Bible, the sparrow is symbolic for something that is worthless and the swallow for something that is restless. Are you feeling worthless? Is your soul restless? This is where you belong.”  

“…the traveler had a deep desire to be at the temple and an abiding confidence in the grace of God to strengthen them for the difficult and trying journey. So they made the journey with joy AND resolve.”

“According to 6, the psalmist dug wells in the desert and trusted God for rain. His pilgrimage to Jerusalem represents ours in this world. We do our part in the Valley of Baca by making it a place of springs. We dig pools, i.e., thankfulness, studying His Word, serving and blessing others. We do that anticipating God will do His part—supplying the autumn rains, i.e., bringing joy, peace, and provision.”

“This is how we go from strength to strength as it says in 7. Seeing and experiencing, knowing and growing in Christ more and more on the road to Zion, this is how God grows our faith in and love for Him.”

“What is your Valley of Baca today? What does it look like for you to dig blessings out of hardships? Follow the highway to Zion that the Lord has put in your heart. Allow His grace to supersede any trial. Trust He will send rain in due time as he brings you closer and closer to heaven. He will do it. He is for you!”

“Here’s what makes this celebration of God’s salvation so amazing.  Numbers 16 recounts how God judged Korah and his family for their rebellious temple service by causing the earth to swallow them up. Now centuries later, one of the Sons of Korah is writing this psalm that praises that same God for His grace and favor in salvation. Whether or not 11 is a result of thinking back on Numbers 16 we don’t know. But the family who knew severe judgment from God now marvels in His salvation.”

“He’s close enough to catch glimpses of the wonder and glory of it all. And a glimpse is enough. One day of glimpses is better than a thousand in the tents of the wicked! Why? Because the doorkeeper belongs to God.”

“We’re all just bellhops right now. But the gospel has set our hearts on the highway to Zion. Heaven is our home. Like the worshiper in Psalm 84, we are on a pilgrimage. And one day in heaven our glimpses of glory will be turned to unveiled and eternal gazing.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 2:22
1 Peter 2:5
2 Corinthians 3:18

QUOTES:
Derek Kindner - “They make it a place of springs is a classic statement of the faith which dares to dig blessings out of hardships. But God may choose to send rain, which comes through nobodies enterprise and can bring a whole area to life, for he has more than one way of dealing with our dryness.”

Charles Spurgeon - “To bear burdens and open doors for the Lord’s house is better than the highest position among the godless…God’s doorstep is a happier rest than downy couches within the pavilions of royal sinners, though we might lie there for a lifetime of luxury.”

APPLICATION:
What about you and I? Where and who do we want to be?  

• Where are the highways of my heart leading me? 

• What are you exhausting your heart and flesh for?

• What is so valuable to me that it keeps me from communion with believers, serving in the strength of the Spirit, and worshipping my Savior on Sundays?

Bottom line: Have you grown familiar with Jesus? We grow familiar. Have you grown familiar with Jesus? Have you lost your wonder and awe toward him? To trust in the Lord is to give Him glory. To give Him glory is to long for and be satisfied in His Son Jesus. To be satisfied in Jesus is to be blessed. On this side of the cross, the blazing center of God’s presence and glory is Jesus.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
God Is For Us
How Rich A Treasure We Possess
Only Jesus
The Father's Love
Christ Our Glory

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 113

It’s easy to make Psalm 56 about the struggle to have faith in fearful times. Yes, it can be a struggle. Yes, there is a degree of lament in David’s words. But Psalm 56 is not about struggle; it’s about VICTORY, victory that comes through faith in the character and promises of God that belong to us in Christ. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 56
TITLE: God Is For Me!
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Our fear gives way to faith when we focus on the faithfulness of God.

POINTS:
1. The Heart of Fear
2. The Heart of Faith
3. The Heart of God

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The backdrop of Psalm 56 is 1 Samuel 21-22. I encourage you to read it this week. In a nutshell, David, who was running for his life from King Saul, ran right into the hands of another deadly enemy—the Philistines. When David wrote Psalm 56, he was alone, desperate, and afraid.”

“The occasion for David’s fear is clear in the text. the first two verses, David uses words like trample, oppresses, and attack to describe what was happening to him. In 5-6, he says his enemies injure his cause and stir up strife as they position themselves to kill David. In their quest to kill David, his enemies were unrelenting. Three times, 1, 2, and 5, David says that his enemies have pursued him all day long. David lived every moment of every day, wondering if it was his last. The brave boy who slayed Goliath when everyone else was afraid. David was no stranger to fear.”

“What about you? Are you feeling alone, desperate, or afraid today? What keeps you up at night? What fears tend to grip your heart?”

“David began 3 afraid. By the end of 4, he is not afraid. What happened between When I am afraid and I shall not be afraid? Faith happened. David could face his terrifying trials because he knew where to run when he felt fear beginning to grip him. He put his faith in God.”

“Typically, our response to fear is anxiety, panic, or distress. When we are afraid, it’s easy to turn to self-sufficiency and self-preservation. Those are vain and powerless responses to fear. More than that, they are sin we must confess to, repent of, and embrace full forgiveness in Christ for. Only then will our fears drive us to Jesus instead of away from Jesus. When David was afraid, he turned to the Lord.”

“His example is so instructive for us when we are afraid and fighting for faith. I want you to notice two things about David’s faith: David’s faith is deliberate and David’s faith is theologically informed.”

“David’s faith was an intentional act of the will. In the moment of fear, David makes a decision that that defies the reality of his situation and the power of his emotions. He trusts God. David He didn’t wait for God to give him faith. Is his faith in God a gift? Is it the work of the Spirit in him? Absolutely. But that does not excuse David from exercising his faith in God.”

“In the same way, we are called to put our faith in God. The Bible never says Jesus has faith for us. Trusting God is what God calls us to do. When we do, we realize it is only by grace, so we cannot boast except in Christ.”

“Three times, David says—I trust in God, whose word I praise. The word praise means exclaim. David exclaims, declaring to himself (preaching to himself) what God is like and what He has promised according to God’s Word. His faith is not blind. He is not throwing vague prayers at the wall. His trust in God is informed by the character and promises of God as revealed to him in God’s Word that drown out the voice of fear.”

“Church, how encouraging and compelling David’s example is for us. When David spoke of God’s Word, he had the Pentateuch (Gen-Deut) and maybe Joshua and Judges, but it was enough to know God’s character and promises. We have the entire Bible. God doesn’t speak to us audibly, but He does speak to us clearly, by His Spirit through His Word.”

“God’s Word is God speaking. He is telling us what He is like. He is telling us how He feels about His people. God is telling us how He acts and what He promises to His children. He reveals what we can be sure of regarding our relationship with Him. And what He says to us in the Bible is the foundation of our faith in times of fear.”

“God knows your tossings. He personally keeps record, not of your sin, but of every tear that falls from your eyes. Verse 8 is a memorable and penetrating way of describing God’s tender care for David and us. God hears your cries. God knows your fears. Sees what keeps you tossing at night. He knows, and He is keeping track of your heart, and He will never fail to care, and He will never be indifferent to your trials and struggles.”

“You can take God at His word. God cannot lie (Heb 6:18). God is faithful (1 Cor 1:9). He is trustworthy. And it is through His Word that He faithfully cares for you. So, the degree to which you have confidence in the Word of God is the degree to which you will have confidence in God.”

“This is David’s grand conclusion— What can man do to me? This I know, my God is for me. The danger David was in did not disappear. But his fears did, and for one reason—What David knew (mental ascent) and what he believed (faith) about God. And it all culminated in this—My God is for me.”

“Man can oppress you, hate you, hurt you, slander you, and yes, even kill you. But in the deepest and most ultimate sense, they can do NOTHING to you because NOTHING can separate you from the eternal love and favor of the One whom your life and fellowship are bound up with in Christ—the God of the universe.”

“When your back is against the wall, i.e., you are being trampled on and attacked, you know that the transcendent, all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving, and sovereign Lord of the universe is counting your tossing and keeping track of every tear you cry. The knowledge and conviction of the promise of intimate, tender, and adequate divine care is the basis for silencing the voice of fear when it roars.”

“No one here knows God well enough. That is the Christian’s eternal duty and delight that will never end. But the more you know, the more you grow and the greater joy you will experience. As the final words of the text say—That I may walk before God in the light of life. Translation—JOY IN CHRIST!”

“Whatever gets in the way of giving yourself to this application, tear it up and throw it away because what you need is to KNOW that god is for you today, tomorrow, and forever!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
1 Samuel 21-22
Hebrews 13:5
Romans 8:28
Philippians 4:19
2 Corinthians 12:9
Romans 8:31-32

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “We have the Bible. It contains all we need to know about spiritual things. Equally important, we have the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of what has been written as well as the ability to apply it to specific areas of our lives.”

J.I. Packer - “God is for me is in truth one of the richest and weightiest utterances that the Bible contains….The knowledge that God is on his side brings a note of triumph into David’s prayer.”

Sinclair Ferguson - “How do you know God is really for you? Where should you look for the proof that God is for you? Does it lie in the fact that your Christian life has been unbroken happiness? Does it lie in the fact that your Christian life has been one of ecstatic joy? There is only one irrefutable answer to these questions. It cannot be found in our circumstances. It lies only in the provision that God has made for us in Jesus Christ.”

APPLICATION:
- Do you doubt God cares for you? God notices, catches, and records every tear you shed. He cares because He loves you with an undying love. Do you believe that?

It’s not simply God’s got this. It’s God is FOR you. God is at work for my good. God will see His work to the end. God is intimately and tenderly involved in my life in every way as my Heavenly Father—God is FOR me!

Do you believe God is FOR you? I’m not asking if you agree with me but if you believe. If you don’t or you have even a smidge of doubt, look past your circumstances and see His only Son hanging on a cross, being crushed by His heavenly Father—FOR YOU!

Do you believe the greatest expression that God is FOR you is in the gospel?
1. Preach to yourself more and listen to yourself less
2. Get to know your Lord and Savior

• Scriptures read earlier

• Knowing God (J.I. Packer)

• Knowing Christ (Mark Jones)

3. Major on the spiritual, minor on the practical

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery
The Power Of The Cross
Jesus Paid It All
All Things

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 84

As individual believers and collectively as a local church, we can never overestimate, and we must never underestimate what it means to be forgiven of our sins by God. That is the message of Psalm 32. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 32
TITLE: Better Than We Deserve
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Being forgiven is everything.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Years ago, I heard someone respond to the question, How are you doing? in this way—’I’m doing better than I deserve.’ …I am doing better than I deserve. It’s more than a religious slogan. Understood rightly, it’s a declaration and celebration of God’s heart and the power of the gospel. At its core is this eternal truth—My sins are forgiven. I am doing better than I deserve because God has chosen to forgive my sins instead of holding them against me.”

“There is no higher blessing in this life than having your sin forgiven by God in Christ Jesus. If you are forgiven, regardless of anything else going on in your life—you are genuinely doing better than you deserve.”

“The first two verses are the centerpiece of the psalm. They are theology at its finest.”

“It’s easy to underestimate the moment in these verses. If you were with David as he wrote these words, you would perceive a substantive and deep joy pouring from his heart. David knows he is forgiven, and as he considers that reality, he is undone by joy. How do we know this? Look no further than 11. David begins Psalm 32 with a declaration that to be forgiven is to be blessed. And 11 is the exclamation point of what is going on in his heart as he considers that God has forgiven his sins.”

“Now, David uses three different words to refer to sin. In 1, he uses transgression (rebellion or crime) and sin (to fall short or miss the mark like an arrow misses the target). In 2, he chooses iniquity (twisted or crooked). The point of using multiple terms to describe sin is not to draw distinctions or create categories of sin. The comprehensive nature and utter sinfulness of our sin is revealed in these terms.”

“Sin is not simply some trivial wrongdoing or bad moral choice. Sin is a rebellious and perverted offense against God and His authority. David wants us to feel that. He wants us to be sobered by that, not to condemn us, but to compel us to be amazed by grace.”

“The first word to describe what God does with our sin is forgiven—(1) Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven. …The word forgiven literally means our sin has been lifted off. Sin and the guilt and shame that accompany it is a weight upon our souls. But when we confess our sin, God removes it. He takes it away. He lifts it off so that we no longer bear the effects of our sin.”

“Where does our sin go? The innocent shoulders of Jesus Christ, who stood in our place and paid the total debt of our sin on the cross. He is the reason we can be forgiven. God doesn’t overlook our sin. He can’t. He’s a holy God who hates sin and must punish all sin.”

“The second word that describes what God does with our sin is covered—(1) Blessed is the one whose sin is covered. The blood of Jesus covers our sin. He is the sacrificial lamb whose blood shed on the cross covers our sin, hiding it in the sense that it has been resolved and is no longer an issue keeping us alienated from and under the wrath of God. The New Testament word for this covering is propitiation. Jesus is our propitiation, his blood covering our sin so that God’s wrath would be turned away.” 

“Finally, David says in 2—Blessed is the man whom the LORD counts no iniquity. This is amazing! God is the divine bookkeeper. But the one whose sin has been forgiven, God no longer COUNTS it against them. He strikes it from the record book. It’s as if it never happened.”

“Your sin is forgiven, covered, and removed from the divine record book when you repent. There is no record of your sin. Even better, the only thing COUNTED to you, what the divine ledger reads next to your name is not your many sins but the perfect obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is what God counts toward you. That’s what we call justification.”

“Church, there is no greater blessedness than being forgiven by God. It's true that God’s blessings come in all shapes and sizes. I trust you are acutely aware of God’s blessings in your life. I hope you have been counting them one by one this past week. But here’s the truth: You can have everything—health, wealth, popularity, power, success, friendships, children and grandchildren—but if your sin is not forgiven, you have nothing.”

“I humbly submit that we must redeem our paradigm of what it means to be blessed. Too often, my understanding of a blessed life is too narrow and too earthly. It’s easy for me to connect a blessed life with my current circumstances.”

“Now, in 3-4, David recounts a time when instead of confessing his sin, he was silent and, as it says at the end of 2, his spirit was living in deception. He was unwilling to confess his sin. David describes the effects of his unrepentant heart in physical terms. (3) His bones wasting away reflects an internal conflict that left him (4) weak and parched as a hot summer day with no water or relief leaves one physically. In 4, David says he felt the unrelenting heavy hand of God’s discipline upon him. Not to punish him but as an expression of God’s love for David; divine discipline mercifully moved David toward repentance.”

“Many scholars believe Psalm 32 is a response to Psalm 51, where David repented of adultery with Bathsheba and the orchestrated murder of her husband Uriah. David was carrying the weight of adultery and murder, and it was killing him.”

“David ended his silence. He owned his guilt. He confessed his sin to the Lord. He repented. And the Lord forgave David. Look at the right margin at the end of 5. See the word Selah. It probably means pause and think about what you just read. In 5, Selah follows these words—and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. God’s forgiveness is worthy of our pause and consideration. We should not read and immediately move on. But Selah applies to us, not God. As soon as David confesses, we read the Lord forgives. God doesn’t pause to consider David’s confession—He immediately forgives. God doesn’t make David earn it. God doesn’t make David sweat. David confesses his sin from the heart, and God pardons him immediately!”

“Not because our sin isn’t serious but because God is merciful. God loves to forgive sinners. God is eager to forgive His children over and over again. You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to beg. You don’t have to persuade. You don’t have to prove your case. God doesn’t vet us. God loves to forgive the penitent!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 103:12
Psalm 103:10
1 John 1:9
Isaiah 55:6-7

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “God is ready and even yearning to forgive and restore us fully —if only we will confess our sin and come to him believing in Jesus Christ, who has made atonement for it. And he will do it right away.”

APPLICATION:
For application I want us to spend time in three passages this week: 

• Psalm 51 (Magna Carta of repentance)

• 1 John 1 (Ongoing repentance as fellowship with God)

• Psalm 103 (God’s heart toward those who repent)

Our text gives us clear and immediate application—

Verse 6 is a call to repentance—TODAY—while God can be found. No one is promised tomorrow, but God promises grace TODAY. Today is a day of grace because God is available to receive your repentance. No one is promised tomorrow.

Freely come to Jesus, believing that his life and death are sufficient for your forgiveness. What you will find is that the Lord will be merciful.

TODAY is the day to run to Jesus in repentance and faith. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, the Lord won’t turn you away. He will turn His forgiving eye on you.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Come Praise And Glorify
It Was Finished Upon That Cross
O My Soul Arise
Judge Of The Secrets
Bless The Lord O My Soul (Psalm 103)

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 56

Prosperity in this world (wealth, health, family) is a gift from God. Prosperity is also a test. It's a test of the heart meant to prove and renew our trust in and love for God. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 30
TITLE: Our Prosperity and God’s Praise
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”King David knew the gift of prosperity, but he failed the test of prosperity. Psalm 30 was sung at the dedication of the Temple. David never saw that day, but his experience was the background. In the same way Moses exhorted the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6—When you live prosperously in the Promise Land, don’t forget it came from the hand of God—in the same way, Psalm 30 would remind God’s people that the Temple in all its wonder and glory, comes from the hands of God.”

“David’s experience is our instruction. Living in America, we all know prosperity. The question isn’t—Am I prosperous? The question is—How do I know if I’m failing the test of prosperity?  For this task, Psalm 30 is a gift to us. Today we will unpack David’s situation, then use his situation to draw three applications for our own praise of God in prosperity.”

“Like a bucket draws water up out of a well—imagery of verb drawn in 1—God drew David up out of the pit of death. And now David praises God from a heart overflowing with gratitude. He doesn’t forget what God did for him. He can’t forget. He won’t forget. So, he praises God.”

“David was a man who had received God’s favor in abundance. The LORD was good to David. The LORD prospered David. He provided richly for David—his kingdom, military might, and personal life. David knew God’s favor as few knew it—(7) By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain (metaphor for his kingdom and personal life) stand strong.”

“David knew God’s favor. But he forgot God’s favor—(6) As for me in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. This is David’s humble confession that he became proud in his prosperity. He allowed God’s favor to close his eyes to God. He grew numb to the reality that all he had was from God, and his pride swelled as he began to believe his own headlines. David began to think—I got this! I’ve done this!”

“David forgot that his prosperity was a gift from God, and in his forgetfulness, he failed the test of prosperity. And so, God disciplined him. God disciplines the ones He loves (Heb 12). God disciplined for his pride. At the end of 7, God hid His face from David, and David was dismayed. He felt it, and he knew it. David forgot God.”

“Let us beware, indeed. In the words of one Scottish preacher—We are never in greater danger than in the sunshine of prosperity.”

“I can find at least three ways David responds to God in Psalm 30  that three thousand years later compel us to sing God’s praises in our prosperity rather than swell our pride. [See below.]”

“Being merciful and gracious is not merely what God does; it’s who He is. It’s His nature. It’s according to his character or, as 4 says—His holy name. David is not simply observing life here in 4-5. You win some, you lose some. You have to take the bad with the good. Cheer up; things will get better. No, Anger for a moment, favor for a lifetime, weeping in the night, and joy in the morning are spiritual contrasts that communicate what God is like and how He loves to treat His people.”

“Be warned today—God will discipline you for your sin. Be sober-minded about your self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and self-exaltation. Repent. Humble yourself before the Lord in prayer. Run to Jesus and receive forgiveness, knowing the disposition of God’s heart toward you is divine favor, and that outweighs His divine anger.”

“Know that whether it is God’s discipline or suffering in a fallen world, you will have times of weeping in your life, but God’s favor and the joy His favor brings are the final words in your life.”

“Whether it is education, career, health, wealth, or cherished relationships, our prosperity comes from God, and it is for His glory, not ours. Your prosperity is meant to serve God’s eternal designs of glorifying Himself in all things. It’s the reason we exist. Through our salvation in Christ, our lives would not be silent; instead, we would worship and testify to the glory of God.”

“The discipline of the Lord has humbled David. Now he sees he should have thanked God for what he had instead of allowing what he had to swell his pride. And gratitude is the key. It’s hard for pride to grow in a heart filled with gratitude.”

“Truth is, our gratefulness should exceed David’s because Jesus did the unthinkable—he gave up his life so we could be spared from the pit of eternal death. This is truth for all of us, but my heart today is that in particular, those of you who If don’t feel prosperous. God hid his face from His only Son on the cross so He could shine His face down upon you. Jesus died on the cross. For three days, he was dead. But on the third day, God drew him up, not merely from death but over death itself.”

“Are you looking for reasons to sing this morning? Do you need to be compelled to sing? Don’t look to your prosperity; look to what God is like. His anger is but for a moment, but his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 6:33
John 3:30

QUOTES:
Oswald Sanders - “Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all is to survive prosperity.”

Charles Spurgeon - “Prosperity had evidently turned the psalmist’s head, or he would not have been so self-confident. He stood by grace, and yet forgot himself, and so met with a fall. Reader, is there not much of the same proud stuff in all our hearts? Let us beware lest the fortunes of intoxicating success get into our brains and make fools of us also.”

James Montgomery Boice - “The point is this: God is indeed displeased with sin and can never be indifferent to it. He judges sin with a holy anger, even in Christians. But for His people God’s judgments and anger are short-lived. They pass quickly. What remains is His favor, which lasts for our lifetime and indeed forever.”

Eric Lane - “God’s anger is like an overnight visitor but His favor is like a permanent resident.”

APPLICATION:
So How do we know if we are failing the test of prosperity? 

• Is your daily communion (Prayer/Word) with Jesus diminishing?

• Is your first impulse I got this or I did this?

• Do forsake the things you know God has called you to (church, Christian fellowship, giving) to pursue the things the world holds out to you (leisure, work, lifestyle, family)?

• Have the unsaved become invisible because all that matters is what you have going on?

• Do you give less to your church's mission because you need more to sustain your lifestyle?

• Do you forget to give God glory in success?

• Are people more aware of your encouragement of them or your stories about you? 

• Are you amazed by God’s grace and power less and less because you are amazed at your abilities and accomplishments more and more?

In his prosperity, David forgot God. Have you forgotten God in your prosperity? Or maybe you haven’t forgotten God but have repositioned him in your life.

1. Remember God’s Heart

2. Embrace Your Purpose

3. Excel in Gratitude

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Sing
Jesus Your Mercy
The Lord Almighty Reigns (Psalm 93)
O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer
10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 32

Listening to someone pray tells you a lot about them. In our text today, we learn a lot about Israel through their prayers. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Sermons in the Psalms, Vol 2
TEXT: Psalm 20
TITLE: Confidence In Our King
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Psalm 20 is a prayer for victory on the battlefield (Psalm 21 is thanksgiving for the victory). It can be divided into three parts:
1. The first five verses are Israel’s prayer for David’s victory. 
2. In 6-8, we witness the people’s unwavering confidence in God for victory. 
3. Finally, one more appeal for victory in 9.
Interestingly, it’s a prayer written by David to be prayed for David.”

“If you can picture with me the scene, David is about to lead Israel onto the battlefield. That is his day of trouble in 1. Israel’s army was assembled and ready for battle. But before they leave, David orders sacrifices and prayers to be offered. As he stands before the people, they offer blessings and prayers for him, which are laid out for us in the first five verses.”

“So 1-5 is a powerfully theological prayer that reveals the people’s confidence in the character, provision, promises, faithfulness, and blessings of God. They are an outpouring of their love for the LORD, fear of the LORD, and trust in the LORD.”

“As one commentator noted, the repetition of the word May (8x’s in all) communicates their complete confidence in the LORD. This is proved out in 6-8. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. These words are the heart of Psalm 20.”

“An armory filled with chariots produced a lot of confidence on the battlefield. But Israel didn’t look to the armory; they looked to the sanctuary in heaven for their help because they believed that their all-powerful, self-existent, unchanging, ever-present, always faithful God, Yahweh himself, would win the war for them.”

“By the way, their discerning eye of faith in an invisible God was not in vain. Psalm 20 is God’s people confidently praying for victory. Psalm 21 is God’s people passionately thanking God for the victory.”

“I believe it’s natural for all of us to find our confidence in ourselves. We all have our personal chariots and horses. Our strength, will, wisdom, money, experience. The more we possess, the more we accomplish, the more we achieve, the more we are confident in ourselves—I’ve been here before; I’ve got this. It’s a vicious cycle.”

“So, facing our misappropriated trust and confidence head-on is critical. Not only is it so often the source of our anxiety, discouragement, and disappointment, but it keeps us from and puts us in opposition to God.  When our minds are filled with self-confidence, we forget God’s sufficiency.”

“When we trust in human wisdom, we get what human wisdom can give. When we trust in institutions and organizations, we get what institutions and organizations can give. When we trust in money, we get what money can give. When we trust in created things instead of the Creator, we get what created things can give us instead of what only God can give us.”

“The writer [of Proverbs 3:5-8] seems pretty clear to me—To know God. To boast in the LORD. To trust in Jesus. That’s where we find healing and refreshment; joy and contentment; peace and satisfaction everlasting. Do you feel the weight of grief? Do you feel weak in faith? Redirect your confidence. Look to Jesus. Trust in Jesus. Oh Lord, in the words of Spurgeon—Let us adore your matchless name, and never dishonor it by distrust or creature-confidence.”

“In Jesus, we have an eternal king of an everlasting kingdom. From the temptations in the wilderness to Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed on his day of trouble, to the cross and the empty grave, Jesus won the ultimate battle for us. David made sacrifices before the battle, but Jesus was the sacrifice that won the battle for our souls.”

“As a believer, your life, purpose, hope, and confidence are tied up in the life of your King. Such is your union with Christ Jesus; therefore, such is your confidence in Christ.”

“Here's the point this morning—The closer we are to Jesus, the more confident we live for him. The more we know him and all he has done for us,  the more we love and trust him.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Proverbs 3:5-8
Romans 8:28-39

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “Chariots and horses make an imposing show, and with their rattling, and dust, and fine caparisons, make so great a figure that vain man is much taken with them; yet the discerning eye of faith sees more in an invisible God than in all these.”

John Calvin - “It’s impossible for him who promises himself victory by confiding in his own strength to have his eyes turned toward God.”

John Stott - “The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us.”

APPLICATION:
Q. Where does your confidence come from?
Q. How do we position ourselves for Psalm 20 confidence in Christ? A. We have to stay close to Christ. If we don’t see him, we won’t remember him.

Four simple ways to stay in the cross's “spark zone”: 
1. Memorize and meditate on gospel verses in Scripture
God calls us to renew our minds and allow our perspective to be shaped by His Word. Start with the gospel. Nothing makes sense without it. Here are some specific verses:
2 Corinthians 5:21
Ephesians 1:3-10; 2:1-10
Romans 3:23-26; 5:6-11; 8:29-39
Isaiah 53:3-6
Titus 3:3-7

2. Study the multi-faceted nature of the gospel
Before you try to figure out what can’t be figured out, usually represented by words you can’t pronounce, do you know what propitiation, justification, and atonement are? Study the Bible and start with the gospel. The more you understand, the more you will cherish and trust. 

3. Rehearse often how the gospel changed and is changing your life
People like to say forget the past. Never forget the past. Reflect on your testimony. Remember how God saved you and continues His gospel work in you today. There is no greater way to grow your confidence in Christ.

4. Finally, Make the gospel part of every prayer you pray
Prayer is communion with God. Nothing is more central to our communion with God than what He has done for us in Christ.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
We Give Thanks (Psalm 107)
My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
All Things
Christ is Mine Forevermore

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 30